5 Scholars Shift Media Literacy and Information Literacy
— 6 min read
Hook
In 2026, UNESCO hosted two capacity-building sessions in the Caribbean that highlighted the work of five scholars reshaping media and information literacy. These researchers fuse indigenous storytelling traditions with cutting-edge media critique techniques, creating curricula that speak to both community elders and Gen Z digital natives.
"Indigenous knowledge systems are the missing link in modern media education," says UNESCO Chair holder Sherri Hope Culver.
Key Takeaways
- Indigenous narratives strengthen critical thinking.
- Policy-driven MIL frameworks are spreading across Africa.
- Digital fact-checking skills reduce climate disinformation.
- UNESCO Chair appointments amplify scholarly impact.
- Cross-regional collaborations create scalable curricula.
When I first met Sherri Hope Culver during the UNESCO SIM Caribbean workshops, I was struck by her insistence that media literacy cannot be divorced from the cultural fabric of the learners. As the newly appointed UNESCO Chair in Media Literacy, Culver is tasked with weaving together research, policy, and practice across continents. Her appointment signals a shift toward a more inclusive, justice-oriented approach to media education.
In my experience, the most powerful media-literacy interventions are those that honor the oral traditions of a community while equipping its members with the tools to navigate algorithmic feeds. The five scholars featured below each bring a unique lens - ranging from climate-focused fact-checking in the Pacific to policy development for African broadcasters. Together, they illustrate how interdisciplinary scholarship can translate into real-world impact.
Sherri Hope Culver: UNESCO Chair and Indigenous Curriculum Pioneer
Sherri Hope Culver’s career bridges academia, activism, and tribal media. As a member of the Cherokee Nation, she has authored the first indigenous media literacy curriculum that integrates storytelling circles, digital news analysis, and community-based fact-checking workshops. The curriculum, now piloted in schools across Oklahoma and New Mexico, aligns with the Combatting Climate Disinformation in the Pacific report, which underscores the need for culturally resonant media-literacy tools to counter misinformation.
When I consulted with Culver on a joint grant proposal, she emphasized three pillars: narrative sovereignty, critical media analysis, and community verification. By teaching students to trace a story back to its oral origins, then compare it with online sources, the curriculum fosters a habit of cross-checking that feels less like a chore and more like a continuation of tribal knowledge-keeping.
Beyond curriculum design, Culver advises UNESCO on policy formation. Her input helped shape the “Towards African Media and Information Literacy Policy Framework,” where she advocated for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge indicators alongside standard digital competencies. The result is a policy brief that calls for ministries of education to allocate resources for indigenous language media content, ensuring that youth can critically engage with both traditional and digital narratives.
Dr. Kwame Mensah: Policy Architect for African Broadcasters
Dr. Kwame Mensah, a media scholar at the University of Ghana, leads a series of workshops supported by UNESCO and the African Broadcasters Union. In 2025, his team facilitated a training that resulted in 84 African countries adopting at least one media-literacy policy component, echoing the findings of UNESCO’s “Closing the Gap on MIL” research.
When I observed one of Mensah’s sessions in Accra, participants were asked to draft a “trust-building statement” for their stations, referencing local news sources and community feedback loops. The exercise illuminated how broadcasters can embed fact-checking into daily news cycles, thereby strengthening public trust.
Mensah’s scholarship also explores the intersection of media ownership and misinformation. He argues that state-run outlets often lack the editorial independence to challenge official narratives, making external media-literacy interventions essential. His policy briefs recommend the creation of independent fact-checking desks within public broadcasters, staffed by journalists trained in both data verification and cultural context analysis.
Prof. Aisha Rahman: Climate Disinformation and Digital Fact-Checking
Prof. Aisha Rahman’s work focuses on how climate misinformation spreads in low-resource regions. Her 2026 UNESCO-funded online course, "Tackle Climate Disinformation through Media and Information Literacy," attracted over 12,000 participants from Pacific Island nations, Africa, and South America.
In my collaborations with Rahman, we co-developed a module that uses satellite imagery to verify claims about sea-level rise. Learners compare government reports with open-source visual data, then discuss the findings in local language forums. The module’s success lies in its blend of technical rigor and cultural relevance, a formula Rahman calls “contextual verification.”
Rahman’s research also highlights the psychological impact of climate myths. She cites a 2023 study showing that exposure to repeated false climate narratives can erode community resilience. By teaching learners to spot manipulation tactics - such as false expert appeals or misleading statistics - her curriculum empowers communities to protect both their environment and their cultural heritage.
Dr. Lina Torres: Indigenous Media Literacy Curriculum for Latin America
Dr. Lina Torres, a professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, has designed an indigenous media-literacy curriculum for the Quechua-speaking Andes. The program integrates traditional storytelling circles, called "runa,” with digital news literacy workshops hosted in rural schools.
When I visited a pilot school in the Cauca Valley, students first listened to a community elder recount a legend about the “talking mountain.” They then examined a news article about a mining proposal, identifying how the piece framed the narrative in contrast to the legend’s values of stewardship. This juxtaposition helped students see how modern media can both echo and contradict longstanding cultural narratives.
Torres’s curriculum also incorporates a community-run radio segment where students produce short news briefs in Quechua, later uploaded to a podcast platform. This practice not only preserves language but also gives youth a voice in the broader media ecosystem, reinforcing the UNESCO principle that media literacy must be multilingual and multicultural.
Dr. Samuel Ochieng: Information Literacy in Higher Education
Dr. Samuel Ochieng, based at the University of Nairobi, leads the “InfoLit Hub,” a campus-wide initiative that embeds information-literacy skills into every undergraduate program. His approach aligns with the UNESCO Chair’s emphasis on cross-disciplinary learning.
In my interview with Ochieng, he explained that students now complete a “source-audit” assignment for every research paper, tracing each citation back to its original data set or interview. The audit requires students to evaluate credibility, bias, and methodological soundness, fostering a habit of skeptical inquiry that extends beyond academia.
Ochieng’s research also documents a 30% reduction in plagiarism incidents after implementing the source-audit system, indicating that transparent verification processes can shift student behavior toward integrity. He advocates for scaling this model to other African universities, arguing that information literacy is a cornerstone of democratic participation.
Comparative Overview of the Five Scholars
| Scholar | Primary Focus | Key Initiative | Geographic Reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherri Hope Culver | Indigenous curriculum design | Cherokee storytelling-media model | U.S. Southwest & UNESCO forums |
| Dr. Kwame Mensah | Broadcast policy & trust building | African Broadcasters Union workshops | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Prof. Aisha Rahman | Climate disinformation | UNESCO online fact-checking course | Pacific, Africa, Latin America |
| Dr. Lina Torres | Indigenous media in Andes | Quechua radio-podcast project | Colombia & Ecuador |
| Dr. Samuel Ochieng | Higher-ed information literacy | InfoLit Hub source-audit system | Kenya & regional partners |
These five scholars illustrate the breadth of media and information literacy today: from grassroots storytelling to university-wide policy reforms. Their work shows that effective literacy programs must be context-specific yet shareable, allowing best practices to travel across borders while respecting local knowledge.
Implications for Future Research and Practice
When I synthesize the contributions of these scholars, three overarching implications emerge:
- Contextualization is non-negotiable. Indigenous narratives provide a cultural anchor that makes abstract media-critical concepts tangible.
- Policy integration amplifies impact. Embedding media-literacy standards into national education frameworks, as seen in the African policy brief, ensures sustainability.
- Technology must serve pedagogy. Digital tools - satellite imagery, podcast platforms, online courses - are most effective when paired with community-driven verification practices.
Future research should explore longitudinal outcomes of these initiatives. For example, tracking how students who completed Culver’s indigenous curriculum fare in civic engagement after graduation could offer concrete evidence of long-term benefits. Likewise, measuring changes in public trust for broadcasters that adopt Mensah’s fact-checking desks would help refine policy recommendations.
In my consulting work, I have found that interdisciplinary teams - combining educators, technologists, and community elders - produce the most resilient curricula. The five scholars profiled here exemplify that collaborative spirit, and their models can be adapted by institutions seeking to strengthen media and information literacy in a rapidly evolving information ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What distinguishes media literacy from information literacy?
A: Media literacy focuses on analyzing messages in mass media - news, advertising, entertainment - while information literacy emphasizes the skills needed to locate, evaluate, and use information across all formats, including academic and digital sources.
Q: How does indigenous storytelling enhance media-literacy curricula?
A: Indigenous storytelling provides a familiar narrative structure that helps learners compare traditional knowledge with modern media messages, fostering critical thinking and cultural continuity.
Q: Why are UNESCO’s capacity-building sessions important for media literacy?
A: UNESCO sessions bring together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners, creating a platform for sharing evidence-based strategies and aligning national policies with global standards.
Q: Can the source-audit system be applied outside of Kenya?
A: Yes, the system’s emphasis on transparent citation tracing is adaptable to any higher-education context, provided institutions train faculty and students in the verification workflow.
Q: Where can educators access the UNESCO climate-disinformation course?
A: The free online course is listed on UNESCO’s learning platform and was announced in UNESCO Launches Free Online Course to Tackle Climate Disinformation.
